Hair clipper



H. MICHAEL HAIR CLIPPER Feb. 28, 1933.

Filed NOV. 24, 1931 13 .77 zo f #ugo Y i Patented Feb. 28,1933` yUNITED STATE- s HUGO MICHAEL, or eoT'rINGEN, er1err.l\rii1nr`V HAIR 'CLIPPER Applicationlled `November 24, 1931,!Seria1 110,577,038, yand. in Germany November 27, 1930.v

My invention relates .Y to hair clippers of the type in which the cutter blade is mounted to reciprocate on a casing and aycomb-or gauge bar is mounted `to reciprocate on the 5' casing lfor varying the' position ofthe cutter blade with respect to the scalp or skin with the object of regulating the length of the hair being cut.y Normally the clipper first cuts the hair very short and then gradually 0 longer.

It `has already been suggested to'providev aV comb or gauge barwhichcooperates with the'bladel in this manner, and it is an ob; ject of my inventionftoprovide improved `means forfeeding the comb or gauge bar, withv a view to varying, the length of the hair being cut during the operation of the clipper.' A

To this end I provide means forfeeding the comb or gauge bar during the operation of the cutter blade, clutchingnieans for connecting it tothe feeding means, and means for throwing in and out the clutching means. Itis another object of *my invention to 2'] vary the initial or starting position of the comb or gauge bar. To this end I provide an adjustable check on thec'asi'ng by kwhich the comb or gauge bar is arrested ,at a variable distance from its final inner position onthe casing. l" I AIt is still anotherobject of my invention to provide means for varying the"angl'ilary position of the `Vcomb* orgauge ,bar with re-` l specttolthe direction in which 'it is fed. To

ing itl about the hinge.

tion Ioperatively yconnect the means for means for feeding the comb yor gauge barV may be designed as a pinion which isro- 5 tatedfrom thedrive of the cutter blade,and

this Aend Ifco'nnect it to the casing by a hinge` at its from end and Provlde a @am or mm' Signed vas, a Shaft in thecasing with a @am `In a preferred embodiment of -my lnven-k O a pa of Cams havmg m'the pllesent feeding the combor gauge bar tothe means a raclrf'wliich is hinged tothe comborfgauge bar at one end and the pinion. Y e

The-clutching means referred to includej a loop at theinner end of a slide, the outer adaptedto mesh with end of which projects from the casing and for. pushing the slide into the casing, a pin `on the rack which engages in the loop so that the rack and thepinion maybe confl nected and disconnectedin any position ofv i 'restedl in its outer final position ifL it has not been arrested inan intermediate position by depression of the slide. By depressing the Lslide againthe comb or gauge bar'is released and permittedv to return to its final inner' or initial position under the Vaction of pull-back springs in thecasing. Y Y 5 By means of the cam referred to which in the preferred embodiment explained above is mounted on a. shaft .in the casingand equippedwith a handle for adjusting it tol Various positions, `the initial'or inner final 89 position from which the comb or gauge bar is started forits feeding movement, may be .varied as desired.

The means for varying theangular posi` ,w

tion of thecomb .orgauge bar witli'respect 18"" to the direction in which it is fed are i de#k instance, two faces for engaging the comb ofthe comb or gauge ybar are preferably de-x signed-as very flexible springs. Y

In the drawing aiiixed to th's specification and forming partthereof a clipper embody-1` i ingm invention is illustrated diagrammatically y way of example.

In the drawing :L Y o n Y j o I Figfl is an elevation of the clipper, having the major part insection on the axis'of 100 Vthe driving shaft,

Fig. 2 is complete elevation of the clip of the clipper viewed from below, with vthe cover at the bottom removed for showing the rack-and-pinion mechanism and clutch- Y ing means,

Fig. 6 is an .elevation of the complete clipper, also viewed from below with the bottom cover removed, showing the clipper in its outer final position, and Y Fig. 7 is a plan view like Fig. 6but shows the comb or gauge bar in its initial orinner final, position.

Referring now to the drawing, 4() is the casing of the clipper with a top cover plate s 41 and a bottom cover plate 42. 43 is a partition extending along the casing in parallel to its top and bottom plates 41 and 42 and subdividing the casing into an upper and a lower compartment for the reception of its driving and comb-feeding mechanisms, as will be described. 44 is a bearing plate for theupper ends of several vertical shafts of the mechanism, which bearingplate is arranged just below the top cover plate 41, 45

is aY transverse rib forming a horizontal face at the outer end of casing 40, and is the fixed cutter blade whichis secured tothe lower face of projection by any suitable means, preferably a pair of screws (not shown), 46 is a transverse rib projectingfrom the upper face of the fixed cutter blade 25 and 24 is the reciprocating cutterrblade which is mountedto slide on the rib 46 and is held down on the fixed blade 25 by a hood or bracket 47. This hood or bracket bears on the top plate 41 with its rear, and on the` reciprocating cutter blade 24 with its front end. 48 is a threaded pin the lower end of Y which is inserted in the projection 45 while its upperend isequipped. with a spring 49 bearing on the hood 47 and a nut 50 for regulating the pressure of .the spring. The

pressure which the front end of the hood f' s 47 exerts on the 'reciprocating blade 24 is varied by adjusting the nut 50.

1 is the driving shaft of` the clipper to which rotation is imparted byv any suitable means, suchas a flexible shaft 1a the other end ofrwhich may be connected to an electric motor (not shown) but obviously the motor might also beV mounted on the casing 40. 2 1s a worm at the inner end ofthe shaft! 1 which is journalled in a suitablebearing` block in the lupper compartment of the casing, 4 is a worm wheel which meshes with the worm 2, and 5 is the shaft of the worm wheel which is mounted to rotate in the bearing plate 44 with its upper, and in the partition43 with its lower end. 51 is a cam or eccentric on the upper portion of the shaft 5, and 52 is a slotted lever in which the cam or eccentric 51 engages near its rear end. The slotted lever 52 is mounted to v'rock about the' pin 48 near its front end, and 54 is a forward extension of the lever which engages in a slot of the reciprocating cutter blade 42. It will be understood that as the shaft 5 rotates under the action of the worm 2 and the worm wheel 4 the slotted' lever 52 is rocked about the pin 48 and reciprocates the cutter blade 24.. l

3 is the comb or gauge bar which is mounted to` slide on the sides of the lower blade 25 with its upturned edges, and has upper prongs 55 which project from the body 3 in forward direction and in parallel to the cutterblades, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 3a are V-shaped springs which are se cured to the outer ends of the prongs 55 at one end and to inclined lower prongs 53 on a bar 56 at the other end. 57 is a vertical plate which projects downwardly from the comb body 3, 26 and 27 are rods which are secured to the plate 57 at their front ends and project rearwardly into the lower com-` partment, and 28, 29 are pullback springs on the rods 26, 27 which bear on the front wall ofthe lower compartment with one end, and on headsat the rear ends of the rods 26, 27 with the other end.

Instead of springs 3a, hinges (not shown) j might be provided, or the prongs 5 3 themselves might be resilient.

Pivoted to the plate 57 at 16 is a rack 15 which meshes with a pinion 14 on a shaft 13. The shaft 13 extends through the partition 43 with the pinion 14 at its lower end in the lower compartment, and a pinion 12a shaft 8,y and 6 is a pinion on the shaft 5 of` the worm wheel 4 which meshes with the spur gear 7 on the shaft 18. In this manner therotation imparted to the shaft 5 by the worm 2 isr transmitted to the shaft 8 through the pinion 6 and the spur gear 7, to the shaft 11i through the pinion 9 and the spur through the 12a. i

spur gear 12 and the'pinion 17 is a pin near the free end of the rack 15,'as best seen in Fig. 5 which" engages in a slot 18 of a tee-shaped slide 19, 20. The

slotted bar 19 of the slideextends in paraly gearflO, and to the shaft 13 of the pinion 14 Y .the rack lfgradually bendstbe spii" lel tto ,the` direction in which the comb 3 is fed. 21 is a button at the. endy of `the bar 20, of the slide-which projects from the casing, and 22 is a spring which is wound about a Vpin 58 extending downwardly from. the

partition 52, with its freezend engaging be tween two pins onthe bar 20xof the slide so as to move the yslideont of the lower compartment as. far as. permitted by a check=59 which kis engaged by theouter pin under'they pressure of spring :22. 30 isahandle which is. mounted to slide inwalslot for" the casing f 40,-.60 is 'a' forkedbolt at the inner end of the handle, and 61 are notches in theV shank ofv the button 21 which are engaged byfthe bolt 60 when'the button is pushed inwardly,y and the handle 30 is advanced,"as shown in Fig. 7., 23 is a plate or wire'spring which is secured to thebai-20 of the slide'a't one end,`

with its free end projecting across the bar 19 so as' to engage the pin-17 oit the rack 15,

and 19a is' a catch at the front end of the slotted bar 19 for thefpin 17 to'engage un-v K der the pressure vof springr23` in the outer Jnal position ofthe comb 3, as

position of the handle 31. The handle is equipped with a catch at its outer end which is adapted to engage depressions I to'V kin the bottom'plate 42. In Fig. 7 ,lthe handle 31is set for the second step and the catch at its free. end engages in the depression II inthe bottom plate 42.k i

Themeans for varying the angular position of the lower prongs 53 withrespectto the direction in whichthelcomb 3 `is fed, include. a shaft- 34 which is mounted to rotate in lugs 33 at the sides ofthecomb, with as pair of cams-35 at opposite ends of the shaft, each cam bearing onone of the lower prongs 53, and36-isa knurled liandle'at-the outerend-of shaft 34 forrotating thecams 35. In the present instance the cams 35v are rectangular `bodies with two'prong-engag` ing faces at right angles 'to eachy otherbut obviously any other type of cams with any number of faces might be provided.-

' In normal operation thefr'ack' 15 Vis moved bythe pinion 14 throughthe 'trainof gears i described until the comb 3 has .arrived fat its outer iinal posit-ion, Fig. 6. kThe'jpinI V17 j on out of itsxpath until thepin` is opposit catch 19a,in whichjit engages `under the reaction of-the spring 23as`shownl in Fig. 5 when the comb 3v is 1in its outer final posiI- tion in which' itis held until the buttony 21" a cani which is inountedfon' is depressed so that theslotrlS inthe bark 19 of the -tee slide, is presented to the ypin 17, permittinor the comb 3 to he returned to its initialposition by the springs 28 and 29 on whichtension had been put during'the feeding of Vthe comb. Thefinitial position of the c-sinb 3 is shownin Fig. 7. tancek towhich the comb is permitted toireturn under the action of springs 28, 29gis determined by the cam 32in Fig. 3.

It itiis'desired to ietuinthe `comb toits The dis- V initial position atan intermediatel point of.

its feeding stroke tl e button 21 is depressed so that the rack 15, through the medium of bar-'19 andpin 17,` isthrown outof mesh with the pinion 14, andv they comb returns to its initial position under .the action *of springs-28 and 29. If'it isdesired to throw cut. permanently the feed of the comb Lthe button 21 is arrestedin'its depressedposi' tion by pushing forward the handle 30 as f shown in Fig.,7, so that the Vbolt 60 engagesl in the notches of button 21and the barf19y holds lthe rack 15 r4out' of mesh lwith the pinion 14.r I i Y,

rIhe length of the hair to'be cut irst'is determined by the initial position ofthe comb which in turn is i'iired by :adjustingthe cam 32. The hair cut iirst is the longer the further the handle 31 is moved from I toward V. In addition to, orincOmbinatiOnWith,v i

this -regulationv of the initial length of the liaii,the angular position of the prongs may be varied by turning the handle 36 on Y the shaft34.' Fig. 4 shows the cam 35 kset for: f thc largest, .and Fig. 1 shows it set for the smallest angle. The reaction of the springs which serve, as hinges for the prongs 53,' holds the prongs 53 engaged with the cams I wish it to construction shown and rdescribed fory obvious modifications will occur to a skilled in the art.v f

In the claims aiiqXed tov this specification 1 no" selection of any particular modification of the invention is intended Vto the exclusion et other vinodications thereof and ,theright to subsequently, make claim to any modifica-y tion -notccvered by tliese'clainis isrv expressly preserved. Y

I yclaim 1. A hair clipper comprising a casing, a:

reciprocating cutter blade on said casing,

Vineansfor reciprocating said blade, `a comb be understood that do not, desire tabs limited to the exact details of person or gauge bar mounted to be displaced on'saidaklv y casing for varying the' positionof said bladeV withrespect to the scalp or skin,fa pinion:V operatively connected to said bladerecipro`- eating means, a rack connected'to said comb Aor gauge bar and adapted to meshv with 'said Jinion.' and means formakino'rand breakinvr f D b thevv meshing relation of said rack and said,l

pinion.

- pinion, and a slide mounted to reciprocate in said casing and operatively connected to said rack for making and breaking its meshing relation to said pinion.

A hair clipper comprising a casing, a reciprocating cutter blade on said casing, means for reciprocating said blade, a comb or. gauge bar mounted to be displaced on said casing for varying the position of said blade With respect to the scalp or skin, a

vpinion operatively connected to said bladereciprocating means, a rack connected to said comb or gauge bar and adapted to mesh with said pinion, a pin-on said rack, a slide mounted to reciprocate in said casing, and a loop on said slide for engaging said pin so as to move said rack into and out of meshing relation to said pinion.

4. A liair clipper comprising a casing, a reciprocating cutter blade on said casing,

`nieans for reciprocating` said blade, a comb orv gauge bar mounted to be displaced on Vsaid casing for varying the position of said blade With respect to the scalp or skin, a pinion operatively connected to said bladereciprocating means, a rack connected to said comb or gauge bar and adapted to mesh with said pinion, a pin on said rack, a slide mounted to .reciprocate in said casing, a 4loop on said slide for engaging said pin so as to move said rack into and out of meshing relation to said pinion, vand a catch at one end of said loop for said pin to engage in.

`5. A hair clipper comprising a casing, a

reciprocating cutter blade on said casing,

' -means for reciprocating said blade, a comb or gauge bar mounted to bo displaced on said casing for varying the-position of said blade with respect to the scalp or skin, a pinion Voperatively connected to saidblade-reciprocating means, a rack connected to said combY or gauge bar and adapted to mesh with said pinion, a pin on said rack, a slide mounted to reci rocate in said casing a loo on said slide for engaging said pinA so as to move said rack into and out of meshing relation to said pinion, a catch at one end of said loop for said pin to engage in, and a spring on said slide Which is inclined to the direction'in which said pin moves along said loop, for moving said pin into said catch.

6. A hair clipper coinpi'ising'a casing, a reciprocating cutter bladeon Ysaid casing,

'means for reciprocating saidblade, a comb or gauge bar mounted. to be displaced on isaid casing for varying the position Vof said blade With respect to the scalp or skin, a pinion operatively connected to said bladereciprocating means, a rack pivotally connected to said comb or gauge bar and adapted to mesh with said pinion, and means for making and breaking the meshing relation of said rack and said pinion.

7. A hair clipper comprising a casing, aV kreciprocating cutter blade on said casing, a

comb or gauge bar mounted to be displaced on saidcasing for varying the position of said blade Vwith respect to the scalp or skin, means for feeding said comb or gauge bar, clutching means for controlling the connection of said feeding means and said comb or gauge bar, a shaft mounted to rotate in said casing, a stepped cam on said shaft Which is adapted-to project from said casing so as to engage said comb or gauge bar and to limit its return movement with respect to said casing, and means for rotating said shaft and for holding it in several positions corresponding to the steps of said cam.

8. A hair clipper comprising a casing, a reciprocating cutter blade on said casing, a comb or gauge bar of resilient material mounted to be displaced on said casing for varying the position of said blade with respect to the scalp or skin, means for feeding said comb or gauge bar, clutching means for controlling the connection of said feeding means and saidcomb or gauge bar, and

means for varying the angular position of said comb or gauge bar to the direction in Which it is fed.

9. A hair clipper comprising 'a casing, a reciprocating cutter blade'on said casing, a

comb or gauge bar of resilent material mounted to be displaced on said casing for varying the position of said blade with respect to the scalp or skin, means for feeding said comb or gauge bar, clutching means for controlling the connection of said feeding means and said comb or gauge bar, and

Va cam rotatably mounted on said comb or gauge bar for varying the angular position of' said comb or gauge bar to the direction in which it is fed. Y

10. A hair clipper comprising a casing, a reciprocatingcutter bladeonfsaid casing, a comb or gauge bar of resilient material mounted to be displaced on said casing for varying the position of said blade with respect to the scalp or skin, means for feeding said comb or gauge bar, clutching means for controllingthe connection of said feeding means and said comb or gauge bar, prongsA arranged at an angle to the body of said comb or gauge bar of resilient material vthe angular position of said prongs to the direction in which said body is fed.

Y Y 11. A hair clipper comprising a casing, a reciprocating cutter blade on said casing, a combV or gauge bar of resilient material mounted to be displaced on said casing for varying the positiony ofsaid blade with respect to the scalp or skin, means for feeding said comb or gauge bar,\c1utchin ymeans for controlling the connection of said feed- 5 ing means and said combv vor gauge bar,

prongs arranged at an angle to the body ofk said comb. or gauge bar, resilient means connecting each prong to said body2 and means i for varying the angular position of said prongs to the direction in which said body is fed. A In testimony whereof. I affixv my signature. 

